


Study Sessions

by FollowTheFirefly



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Gen, set during the december exams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 19:29:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8114677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FollowTheFirefly/pseuds/FollowTheFirefly
Summary: In which Akihiko makes it his mission to get Junpei to study and learns something about the second-year in the process.





	

Uncharacteristic tension filled the living room of the SEES dorm. The normally bustling dormitory was now quiet and still. The residents had taken up various places throughout the first floor of the dorm, though most of them chose to remain in the common area. Textbooks and notebooks were out, pens were scattered across the floor, and on the kitchen table laid a plethora of loose-leaf paper, each listing some sort of complicated mathematical formula.

It was exam week.

Or rather, the week before exam week. But everyone was busy so studying that they really didn’t pay much attention to the days of the week.

Well, almost everyone.

“Junpei, aren’t you going to study at all?” Yukari looked up at Junpei, who had decided to use his time constructing an armada of origami ships on the coffee table.

“I know we’re all worried about the future but we still need to worry about exams,” Mitsuru said from the couch where she and Akihiko were sharing biology notes.

“You guys know I never really study anyway,” Junpei picked up an airplane that he had been making and threw it across the living room, hitting Koromaru square in the nose. “Oops, sorry Koro-chan.”

Koromaru lifted his ears and glared at Junpei for a few seconds before yawning and rolling over onto his side, turning away from the group.

“Mitsuru’s right, you know,” Makoto was over in the unofficial office, organizing his many notes for their English exam so he could take a well-deserved break from his long study session. 

“How come Makoto can take a break but I can’t?” Junpei whined.

“Because Makoto’s actually studying,” Fuuka scribbled furiously in her notebook.

“I really don’t envy you high schoolers,” Ken was reading a book over by the TV so the others could have some space to work. “It seems like there’s so much stress.”

“Just you wait, Ken-kun,” Fuuka looked up at the younger boy across the room. “You’ll be there before you know it.”

“Man, I wish Aigis was here right now,” Junpei got up and retrieved the paper airplane, petting Koromaru gently on the head as a form of an apology.

“She’d probably tell you to get back to work, too,” Makoto reached for his melon soda that was siting nearby and took a sip.

“You guys really are lucky that you don’t have to worry about third year exams,” Akihiko picked up an orange highlighter and ran it over his notes. “These exams are killer.

“But you’re graduating soon,” Junpei pointed out.

“That’s the point,” Ken said, scooting out of the way as Fuuka stood and made her way to the kitchen for some snacks.

“Let me guess, the ships are made of notes?” Akihiko leaned forward and picked up one of the little paper ships, examining it carefully. He looked back at Junpei and sighed in exasperation. “Junpei…”

“Relax, these are tests from last month,” Junpei said with the wave of his hand.

“But you could use those to learn from what you got wrong the first time,” Yukari said with a sigh.

“Oh,” Junpei said simply. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Why don’t Yukari and Junpei and I go study together?” Makoto suggested, tossing the empty soda bottle into the nearby trash can. “That might help a little bit.”

“And since we’re all in the same class, it’ll be mutually beneficial,” Yukari nodded.

“Why don’t you three go upstairs and study in the lounge?” Mitsuru suggested as she dug through her bag for her government textbook. “The rest of us can stay down here.”

“I’m not bothering you guys?” Ken asked, genuinely concerned that he was disrupting his friends’ studying.

“Are you kidding?” Akihiko looked up at him. “You’re so quiet that I forget that you’re even there sometimes.”

“That sounds boring,” Junpei whined.

“You’re going to regret it later, so just go now,” Makoto said.

“Come on, Junpei,” Yukari said as she and Makoto gathered their belongings and made their way towards the stairs in the back of the dorm.

“Okay, geez…” Junpei sighed in defeat and followed his friends, taking his notebook with him.

“Sometimes that one worries me,” Akihiko admitted to Mitsuru.

Fuuka walked back into the room, carrying a large bowl of popcorn in her hands. She looked around the room, rather confused by the lack of people who had been there only moments before.

“Where did everyone go?” she asked.

“They went upstairs to study,” Ken said. “Can I sit down on the couch? Reading on the floor isn’t that much fun after a while.”

“By all means,” Mitsuru gestured for him to take a seat on one of the sofas near the coffee table.

Ken leaned over to scratch Koromaru behind the ears before he stood and made his way over to the sofa, sitting down directly across from Akihiko and Mitsuru.

“Are they coming back down at all?” Fuuka asked, still standing in the doorway with the bowl of popcorn in hand.

“Probably not,” Akihiko shook his head. “I know Yukari can get really intense with her studying, so she’ll probably keep them up late tonight.”

“Oh,” Fuuka looked down at the popcorn. “I guess I didn’t need to make so much, huh?”

“More for us,” Mitsuru offered her a rare smile.

“I love popcorn,” Ken nodded happily.

“And some for Koromaru, if he wants some,” Fuuka looked to the dog resting by the TV.

Upon hearing his name, Koromaru’s ears perked up. He yawned and stretched before standing up and padding his way across the living room, sitting down next to Mitsuru.

“Too bad Aigis can’t play with you,” Fuuka said, watching Mitsuru as she leaned forward to scratch Koromaru’s back.

“How’s your studying going, Fuuka?” Akihiko asked.

“Okay, I guess,” Fuuka shrugged, moving over to set the bowl of popcorn down on the table.

“Rough subjects?” Mitsuru asked.

“I’m not the best at math,” Fuuka was playing with one of the pens Yukari had left behind. “Or Japanese history or English.”

“I can help with Japanese history if you want,” Ken offered as he reached for a handful of popcorn.

“Really?” Fuuka had to admit that she was surprised.

“He’s helped me a few times with some of my exams,” Akihiko nodded in agreement. “The kid’s really good.”

“That would be great. Thanks, Ken-kun,” Fuuka said, relieved to have a bit of help.

“Sure thing,” Ken nodded. “I like history.”

“Just don’t let it get to you,” Mitsuru said encouragingly, turning back to Fuuka. “You’re a smart girl. I have no doubt that you’ll do the best you can.”

“I certainly hope so.” Despite Mitsuru’s praise, Fuuka still seems a bit worried. 

“It might seem daunting now, but finals really won’t be the worst we see in this world,” Mitsuru said. “We all know that already.”

“I just wish Junpei would take them more seriously,” Akihiko sighed.

“Why does it bother you so much?” Mitsuru glanced back at her friend.

“I don’t know, but it does,” Akihiko shook his head.

“Maybe you could try to help him study, Akihiko,” Fuuka grabbed some popcorn from the table.

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea,” Ken nodded in agreement, his index finger running up and down the spine of the book sitting in his lap.

“”Is that really a good idea?” Mitsuru looked up at Ken.

“It couldn’t hurt,” Ken leaned over for the popcorn. “It isn’t like he’s going to study any other way.”

“I guess it’s worth a shot,” Akihiko shrugged. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

-

The next afternoon found Junpei and Akihiko sitting in the hall lounge, each glaring daggers at the other. Their studying materials were spread out in front of the table, but Junpei was very reluctant to actually study.

“But this is so boring,” he complained, leaning back against the couch. 

“I don’t care if it’s boring, you need to study,” Akihiko was flipping through his own notebook. “Yukari told me what your midterm grades were.”

“And your point is?” Junpei challenged with an air of defiance. 

“You’ll need to do quite spectacularly if you don’t want to repeat the year,” Akihiko said, perhaps a bit harsher than he had intended.

“Okay, okay…” Junpei sighed in defeat. “So what’s up first?”

“Let’s start with English literature,” Akihiko grabbed Junpei’s notebook from the table, flipping through the pages. “I’ll say a title, you tell me who wrote it.”

“Fine,” Junpei shrugged.

“’The Great Gatsby.’”

“The great what now?”

“’Wuthering Heights’.”

“Is that even a word?”

“’Crime and Punishment’.”

“Often go together.”

“Junpei…” Akihiko glared at Junpei.

“What?” Junpei threw up his hands in defense. “I don’t know any of them!”

“Do you even pay attention in class?” Akihiko felt compelled to ask.

“How would I have those notes if I didn’t?” Junpei pointed out.

“You could have borrowed them from Yukari or Makoto,” Akihiko retorted easily enough.

“Or Aigis,” Junpei added.

“I don’t think she’d let you,” Akihiko shrugged. “Fine, how about world history?”

“I really don’t see the point in all of this, but okay,” Junpei had picked up one of his pens and was tossing it up in the air.

“Okay, here’s an easy one,” Akihiko had switched notebooks and was flipping through the pages. “Who fought in the Franco-Prussian War?”

“Uh, Spain and Brazil?” Clearly Junpei hadn’t been paying attention in his history classes either.

“Prussia and France!” Akihiko shouted in exasperation. “Honestly, Junpei, why would Spain or Brazil take part in a war that was clearly between France and Prussia?”

“How was I meant know that?” Junpei demanded, folding his arms across his chest.

“Because it’s called the Franco-Prussian War, dammit!” Akihiko snapped.

“I’m not good at school stuff like you and Mitsuru are!” Junpei retorted angrily.

“Clearly!” Akihiko leaned back against the back of the cough, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“I guess that’s how it goes,” Junpei said in perfect English, standing up and walking over to the vending machines for a drink.

Akihiko stared after Junpei, wondering just how in the world someone who failed his last English test (he’d found out from Makoto two days before) could pronounce a sentence like that perfectly.

“Junpei, that’s really good,” Akihiko said after a few seconds.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Junpei rolled his eyes as he slid a few yen into the coin slot of the vending machine.

“No, seriously,” Akihiko said. “I didn’t know you were good at English. At least with pronouncing it.”

“I’ve always been good with languages,” Junpei shrugged noncommittally. “Reading them is much easier, but speaking them isn’t that bad.”

“Then why are your English grades so bad?” Akihiko frowned. “If you like it, the tests should be pretty easy for you.”

“Sometimes they’re too easy,” Junpei turned around and tossed Akihiko a can of MadBul. “Then it’s not as fun, you know?”

“I guess that makes sense.” It was as much sense as Akihiko could make of the situation, at any rate. “So is that what you want to do? Something with languages?”

“I dunno,” Junpei threw himself back onto the couch. “I haven’t really thought about it.”

“If you really enjoy it, why not try to make a job out of it or something?” Akihiko popped the tab of his soda. 

“I guess,” Junpei shrugged again. “But thinking about the future like that really makes my head hurt.”

“Yeah…” Akihiko knew exactly what Junpei was talking about. “But still, we need to get through finals first.”

“You’re really not giving up on this, are you?” Junpei ran his finger around the rim of his soda can.

“No, I’m not,” Akihiko shook his head. “Besides, helping you study helps me a little bit, too.”

“And there’s the ulterior motive,” Junpei leaned forward to sort through his notes.

“Okay, so what about math?” Akihiko decided to ignore Junpei’s comment. “How are you in geometry?”

“I know what a triangle is, if that’s what you’re asking,” Junpei sipped on his soda.

“Maybe Makoto could help you with that,” Akihiko realized that he wasn’t really good at math himself.

“Too bad Shinjiro isn’t here,” Junpei said, a dark look falling across his face. “He was good at math, wasn’t he?”

“Oh yeah,” Akihiko nodded, smiling to himself at a particular memory of them studying for a test in middle school.

“I guess we’ll both have to do well for his sake,” Junpei went on. “Chidori too.”

“Well, the only way we can do that is by actually studying,” Akihiko tried to reign in the conversation.

“I guess you’re right,” Junpei started to flip through the notebook closest to him.

“So go ahead and try to memorize these math formulas,” Akihiko took the notebook from Junpei, flipped over a few pages, and handed it back. “I’ll work on mine and we can quiz each other in half an hour or so.”

“Seems fair,” Junpei took the notebook from Akihiko.

They both leaned back, their eyes on their notes. Junpei occasionally picked up a pen and scribbled down a few things in the margins in hopes that they would help him remember the formulas. Akihiko looked up every now and then to see how Junpei was doing and he found that perhaps he had worried for nothing.

**Author's Note:**

> I have this sort of headcanon that while Junpei is terrible at most subjects, he loves languages, especially English. I got the idea for this one after the bit of dialogue where Akihiko complains about getting Junpei to study and I felt it was a good excuse to include said headcanon in a story for once.


End file.
